Vegan Diet Day 1

What did I eat?
Breakfast and Lunch: Balsamic Chickpea, broccoli and zucchini wrap
Snack: Pretzels, peanuts and cantalope
Late night snack: Sauteed onions and potatoes 

I made the broccoli and chickpeas last night and had them in a calzone, I had alot left over that I made into a wrap for breakfast and I’ll take some to work for lunch.



Balsamic Chickpeas:
 Ingredients :

1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed
Drizzle of olive oil
1- 1 ½ tbs of balsamic vinegar
¼ cup of diced onions and peppers
¼ cup of diced canned tomatoes ( the kind that’s Mexican or chili style)
Salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1. Heat a small skillet on medium. Add olive oil just to coat pan and add peppers and onions.

2. Once peppers and onions are softened add your balsamic vinegar and chickpeas, stir everything together and let sit for about a minute.

3. Add tomatoes and spices to taste, stir and cover on low heat for 3-5 minutes,

Your chickpeas will be in a great tasting sauce that you can serve over rice, in a salad, with pasta, a wrap or just on its own. You can even add tahini and blend it to make hummus.

I only had frozen broccoli so I thawed it in the fridge and squeezed the excess water out, it worked out perfectly. Roasted is really the only way that I like to eat broccoli.

Curry Roasted Broccoli and Zucchini

1 cup of broccoli
Half of a medium sized zucchini  cut into thin half moons
Tbs of olive oil
¼ tsp of Curry powder
Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Add your broccoli and zucchini to a small baking sheet (I used an old cake pan), drizzle the olive on top and add the spices. then mix.

3. Place in over for 20-25 minutes, be sure to toss the veggies half way.
I took mine out after the broccoli had softened and the zucchini was a little clear.


Assembly

I warmed up a tortilla and used hummus as a condiment then piled on the chickpeas and veggies, I also had tomatoes, cucumber and onions marinating in olive oil and balsamic vinegar that I added. Add a squeeze of lemon to brighten up the flavors.

This was definitely a yummy meal to start off my 30 day vegan challenge. After eating this I had a sweets craving and I just had a mint and a few dried cranberries then I had some jasmine tea.

Day one wasn't too bad, I just craved sweets which is nothing new to me, it really is my vice.

30 Day Vegan Challenge

Throughout the seven years that I’ve been an ovo-lacto (no meat but still eggs and dairy products) vegetarian I’ve thought and even tried to give up dairy and eggs. When I first became a vegetarian I did it as an experiment I just wanted to see if I could do it for 30 days, it caught on, I learned more about it and months later when I went to a vegetarian friendly college it just fit and I’ve stuck with it.

Now I’m going to do another challenge to follow a vegan diet for 30 days. Why now? I’ve just been feeling so tired and unhealthy for a while now, I know that it has a lot to do with me eating a lot of sweets and breads while at work (why do people always bring sweets to share at work?). I want to not keep relying on cheese to add flavor to my meals, I just want to overall have a healthier lifestyle.

My husband isn’t a vegetarian, but he doesn’t eat pork and only eats beef outside of home. So I’m not a very strict vegetarian because I do cook chicken, fish and turkey for him, we use the same pots and utensils, but I do wear disposable gloves while handling the meat. I wear gloves because it’s just easier and I feel cleaner because I don’t have to worry about meat particles under my nails or hands and contaminating other foods and surfaces.

So here are some of my concerns about following a vegan diet:
 -Going out to eat is already a chore because I have to make sure there is something for both me and my husband to eat and be satisfied
-I’m a sweets fan, so now I have to find dairy and egg free alternatives that are affordable or maybe I can just kick the sweet habit altogether
-I love breve Latte (half and half with espresso). Maybe I'll have to opt for soy or just stay with teas.

Tutorial: Burlap Baggies

I came up with these baggies because I wanted reusable packaging for my soy candles. I figured once customers are done with the candles they can still use the packaging for just about anything instead of just throwing it in a landfill.

 You can use these baggies to house pencils and pens, coins, craft materials, jewelry and pretty much anything if you make them big or small enough.

For example; say you make handmade bath and body products, you can make a baggie big enough for a set of items and market them as a gift item or as a travel kit. You can use large hemp cord as your string or braided hemp or string,or even add a zipper, whatever you want.


What you need:

Burlap
Scissors
Ruler
Hot glue gun or sewing machine
Hemp cord or string
Needle with eye large enough for hemp or string
Beads
Optional:
embroidery thread
Iron

1. Measure and Cut Burlap

Here are all the different burlap pieces that you need to measure and cut
-9” x 4”
-3” x 3”
-9” x ½”







At this point you can embroider the burlap if you like, or hand sew beads into it, whatever you like.

I embroidered F.O.E for Found on Earth on the bottom of my bags.

With your 3”x 3” piece you need to:


Measure 1/2 an inch horizontally from the corner of the square, keep you pen or marker at 1/2 and inch and measure vertically from that point and mark this area with a sharpie. Make sure that you measure correctly because this first mark is what you will measure every other mark from.

From that sharpie mark you measure 2 inches up and 2 inches over and finally 2 inches down. Mark every 2 inches with a sharpie.

Here is all the Sharpie dots

After you do this you want to cut down and over from the dots and this will create your flaps for the bottom of the bag.

2. Fold and Crease or Iron
At this point you can opt to fold and crease the 3” x3” piece at each flap with your hands or with an iron; I just use my hands.

3. Assemble
I use a hot glue to adhere my pieces together, I suggest you use a sewing machine if you plan to use heavy items in your bags.

Sew/Glue in this order:
9” x  ½” piece onto the inside of your 9” x 4” piece then these two pieces onto your bottom 3” x 4” piece.

Glue the excess burlap into the inside  or outside of the bag.

 Once you are done gluing fold or iron a crease into each corner of the bag.

Here is option 2

 **Because Burlap naturally fringes you can fringe the top of your bag and then glue the 9”x½” piece into the top inside of the bag to prevent it from fringing all the way down.

Or, if you don’t want the fringed look you can do one of two things:
1. Cut the burlap at the end of the fabric where it is sealed.
2. Fold in half lengthwise then glue or sew the  piece over the outside and inside of the 9”x4” piece. If you use this option cut the piece into 9”x 1” to allow room for front and inside.




 4. String Bag

 Use a large needle to string in your cord or string into the bag and attach beads or even buttons onto the ends of the string or you can knot the end of it. Or if you want to, don't string it.

Here's the finished product without string.

A few tips and Cautions: Make sure that you turn the hot glue on early enough so that the glue is actually hot, I would say after you cut your pieces.

Also I’m a veteran when it comes to getting burnt by the hot glue gun so it doesn’t bother me to press my bare fingers against the hot glue and burlap, if you don’t feel comfortable just sew your pieces. Or, give the hot glue gun a try.

Make sure you place your glue gun on a good surface that wont melt or get damaged, try a craft table or cardboard.

The bag is lightweight, so if it falls over when you put items in it I suggest using something heavy in the bottom; I use little pebbles or a votive candle holder.

votive candle holder inside bag

Creative Motivation

We all get into a creative funk. Well I’ve been in one for a while. I’ve set sales goals for my items and haven’t meet them this year, I’ve been allowing the money side of my business to take over my passion for what I do.

So yesterday I talked to a really good artist friend of mine. I told him that I felt unmotivated, unfocused and/or discouraged.  He told me that I need to:

- surround myself with people who are doing what I’m doing

- be consistent, create a routine

- take what I’m doing to the next level

This is all so true. What I’m doing is what I want to do, I just need to really step out and connect with more people and elevate my business.

So here are some ways that I can implement his advice into my life.

- surround myself with people who are doing what I’m doing:

 Look on Craig’s list for events , artist meetups and groups, join a group on meetup.com, go to art and craft fairs in my area, join etsy groups and be a part of forums. Just be out more and let people know what I’m doing and show genuine interest in what they do and follow up with them to keep a relationship going.

- be consistent, create a routine:

Set specific goals/ to dos and follow them. For example, blog at least once a week and work on something business related for at least an hour a day.

- take what I’m doing to the next level:

By doing the above two things I know that I can elevate my business/passion. Whenever an opportunity comes my way I’ll be ready for it and confident enough to talk about what I do.

It was a really great conversation, it’s always good to have a friend who can throw you back on track.

Craft Shows and Fair Tips When You're Low on Cash

You Don’t Have to Just do Big Shows:
Really big well known shows are great but you can get a lot out of smaller or lesser known shows and events.
My first show was at a vegetarian society event, I was selling soy candles so the audience was great, I got a lot of feedback and it helped me to get out and sell/expose my products while only paying 10 dollars for a table and I got free food! Here are ways to find smaller shows and events:
-Craig list searches in the community section under events or artist
-look at your local farmers market website for vendor applications
-a lot of schools hold holiday and seasonal events
-go to coffee shops and look at their bulletin boards
-community websites have there local events on there and they are usually looking for vendors especially around the holidays 
Trust me there are a lot of places where you can vend.

Share a booth
If you have a friend or family member or even another crafter or artist that you’ve seen at shows ask if they would like to split the booth fee at an event. You two can help each other with sells, setting up and taking down displays and someone to talk to when things are slow

Volunteer
 Earth Day in St. Louis is a big deal we have a huge festival that I would have loved to vend in but the booths are expensive and I was late on the deadline, so I volunteered! It was a great way to meet others, really feel like your are helping/contributing, and I was able get a behind the scenes look at how things are done. When you volunteer at fairs, events, festivals etc it’s a perfect time to talk with others about what they are doing, what you’re doing and to even learn more about the crafting or art business. And its always great to make a new friend. If you can wear something that you make and remember to bring business cards.

Attend the Show as a customer
You can see how the crowd of the show is. Look at others booth display and designs especially crafters and artist that make similar items to you. How do their prices compare to yours? What do you like about their booths? How can you incorporate parts of their display into yours and make it truly yours. Talk to other crafters as a customer and see how they talk. How is their approach? Does it make you want to buy their products? Are they telling a story?

Basically use this time to not only peep out the competition but connect with other crafters and artists. If what you make can be worn, wear it( you may find new customers)! Ask vendors about the show, if they know of any other shows; how they got into vending and creating items. You can even talk to others attending the show as customers and see how they heard of the show, if they like the vendor's selections,etc.

Be friendly, be yourself and take note on everything.

Work Harder

Bottom line if your aren’t able to attend a show or be a vendor take this time to work. You can build your inventory, work on branding and marketing, research upcoming events that you can save up for and work towards.

In between shows I make sure I have enough of my watercolored business cards in stock.

Grilled Curry Tofu w/ Mixed Greens

Very quick and satisfying recipe, cost about 5 dollars

Ingredients:

Curry Tofu
Tofu (frozen and thawed)
Trader Joe's Coconut Curry Sauce (or any curry sauce you like)
Curry Powder and Turmeric (these are optional I just used them cause I had them)
Red and yellow Peppers (diced)
Onions
Salt and Pepper to taste
2tsp of oil


For the Salad
mixed greens
light dressing (I used light Trader Joe's Champagne Dressing)
dried cranberries (optional)

Directions:

1. Place your oil in a skillet and put on med heat.
2. After your tofu is frozen and thawed, cut your desire amount and simply squeeze the excess water out with your clean bare hands. Then dice the tofu into bite sized chunks
3. Once the oil is heated add your onions, peppers and any other spices that you like.
4. Add your tofu to the mix once the onions and peppers get soft (they do not need to be completely sauteed)
5. Add more oil if needed to aid in the browning of your tofu. You want to get a nice crust on the outside so let them stay on one side for about 3 minuets then turn over.
6. While you're waiting for your tofu to cook rinse off your greens and mix them and the cranberries in a bowl. You can add your dressing right before you add your tofu on top.
7. Once both sides of the tofu are brown add the curry sauce. You only need enough to cover your tofu so that it can absorb the moisture. Let the curry and tofu marinate for about 4 minuets.
8. Add your dressing to the greens and place your tofu on top. Yum Yum.

Tips for Using Soy candles

Before your light that wick and sit back to enjoy your new soy candle, read this list.

Cure: All found on earth candles are made to order, so when it gets to you, don't light it yet, wait one to two weeks for the wax and essential oils to settle and blend, this process is called curing.

Cut: Trim the wick to one forth of an inch (do this every time you relight the wick).

Memory: The first burning of the wick is the most important time. To ensure that you get the best scent throw and the most use of your wax burn the candle so that the pool of melted wax gets as close to the edge of your candle as possible, some suggest that you burn the candle for one hour for every inch of the diameter of the candle. So if you have a 3.5 inch diameter candle burn it for 3.5 hours.
Stay Still: Once you light a candle leave it where it is. Imagine if you were walking down some steps with your candle and you happened to trip, all that hot melted wax will be all over you or on the steps or both, these are all horrible scenarios so please avoid moving that candle.
Extinguish:Now that your room is filled with the scent of your soy candle you don't want to ruin it by blowing it out and releasing all that smoke into the air. You can invest in a wick dipper or do as I do and us tweezers to lightly bend the wick into the wax pool and then pulling it back up and making sure it's straight. You might get little black flakes from the wick in your melted pool of wax, use the tweezers or any other object and get those nasty things out.
Be Safe:Please keep in mind that you are dealing with fire when you're enjoying your soy candles. Allows read and follow the safety tips on the bottom on the candle. I'll list some tips here just as a reminder.
-never leave a candle unattended
-do not place by drafts, drapes etc
-keep away from children and pets
-never place objects or water into a candle.
-do not light a candle for longer than 3 hours.

I hope this gave you all some help on using your soy candles.